Satya Pal Malik Dies at 79: Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Passes Away

Satya Pal Malik, former Jammu and Kashmir governor, passed away on Tuesday, August 5. He was 79 years old. "Former Governor Chaudhary Satya Pal Singh Malik is no more," a post on Malik's official X (formerly Twitter) handle reads. 

पूर्व गवर्नर चौधरी सत्यपाल सिंह मलिक जी नहीं रहें।#satyapalmalik

— Satyapal Malik (@SatyapalMalik6) August 5, 2025

Earlier in the day, he was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in Delhi due to illness and passed away at around 1 p.m. today. Malik served as the last governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019. During his tenure, the BJP government in the centre abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Today marks the sixth anniversary of the decision. He was later appointed Governor of Goa and also served as the Governor of Meghalaya till October 2022.

Malik entered politics as a socialist in the 1970s. He became a working member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1974. He represented Baghpat on a Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) ticket and was also appointed the General Secretary of the Lok Dal.

He was a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1989, representing Uttar Pradesh. Malik joined several political parties, including Bhartiya Kranti Dal (BKD), Congress, and Janata Dal (JD), finally falling into the BJP's net in 2004.